The present invention generally relates to staging a flow of a plurality of products into a staged outflow of products that are in a desired patterned grouping which includes a specific number of products having a specific desired spacing therebetween. The apparatus and method of the present invention are particularly suitable for staging a plurality of stacks of sliced food products, especially sliced sausage products such as those of the so-called luncheon meat variety including salami, summer sausage, bologna, ham and the like. More particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus and method for receiving a flow of a plurality of products having flow characteristics different from the desired pattern and then staging such flow of products into a patterned grouping of products that includes a specified number of products having a specified spacing therebetween, which desired patterned grouping is advantageously arranged to substantially correspond to the number and spacing of a plurality of packaging container openings or bubbles, a plurality of which are included within a sheet utilized in packaging the products into the containers or bubbles.
During the manufacturing and packaging of products, including food products such as stacks of sliced sausage, products are often provided as an out-feed from a manufacturing or processing station that is not particularly consistent, especially from the point of view of spacing between the products, and at times there is a need to stage such inconsistently spaced flow of products into a desired pattern. A typical pattern in this regard is that of the spacing among packaging containers or bubbles of packaging sheeting units. For example, in the manufacture and packaging of food products such as sliced sausage products, large sticks or loaves of sausage or other product are cut into slices by a high-speed rotary slicer which discharges the slices in loosely arranged stacks of a desired weight, and there is a need to transfer these stacks of slices into a container or bubble within which the slices are subsequently packaged and sealed. Typically, in order to take advantage of economies of scale, the packaging containers are provided in the form of a sheet or unit having a plurality of containers or bubbles which are later severed from each other after packaging has been substantially completed. Product flow from slicers and the like provide a flow that consists of products which are not consistently spaced, and at times it is necessary to manually fill or assist in filling the products into the individual containers or bubbles of the packaging units.
In the example of the packaging of sliced food products, sticks or loaves thereof are frozen and cut into slices by a high-speed rotary slicer which discharges the slices in loosely arranged stacks of a desired weight. The slices of each stack typically then must be arranged into neater vertical alignment for insertion into snug or close-fitting cavities within a substantially rigid plastic tray which is later covered, sealed and severed in order to provide individual finished packages. In a copending and commonly owned patent application entitled "Stack Handling Method and Apparatus", an arrangement is described for simultaneously lifting and transporting a plurality of products having desired spacing therebetween and depositing that grouping of products in substantially simultaneous fashion into a plurality of package compartments or bubbles included in a single packaging sheet. In arrangements such as these, the plurality of products are arranged in a single-file type of grouping that is arranged for movement which is longitudinal with respect to the grouping, which brings with it the advantage of conveying the products in a substantially constant longitudinal direction. However, arrangements such as these require that, prior to lifting and transporting of the entire longitudinally oriented group of products, the products must be precisely spaced with respect to each other, such spacing corresponding to the spacing between the plurality of packaging compartments or bubbles of the packaging sheet. If proper alignment is not achieved, the products will not be properly located within the cavities or bubbles, and the products can be damaged by the transport mechanism.
Of particular interest with respect to the function of providing precise positioning between longitudinally spaced products is the need for such a function in connection with mechanized and automated food processing operations leading to providing packaged food products that have uniform consistency and that have a clean, damage-free appearance which promotes consumer confidence in the product while at the same time reducing the labor intensity of these types of processing operations. One such type of food product that has received considerable attention in this regard is sliced luncheon meat that is packaged in stacks of meat slices within a packaging container or bubble. Typically, luncheon meat is prepared in these operations in large sausage sticks or loaves, and these large products are then loaded into an automatic slicing apparatus which automatically roughly stacks and weighs groups of slices to provide them as a flow of meat slice stacks. Such meat slice stacks are suitably conveyed for subsequent processing, handling and packaging. Using one or more such automatic slicing machines provides a flow of stacks of products that are not alway uniformly spaced and that cannot be easily adjusted in order to provide a spacing of the type that is needed for simultaneous insertion of groups of product stacks into a sheet of packaging bubbles or the like. Typically, such automatic slicers cannot be fully synchronized to provide a consistent flow of stacked products. Also, gaps are inherently developed due to the time it takes to reload the slicer with a fresh stick or loaf.
The present invention takes these various factors into consideration and responds to the needs attendant thereto by providing an apparatus and method for accepting a flow of products on demand from a generally unsynchronized supply thereof, such as is provided by unsynchronized automatic meat slicers having interrupted outputs, and staging that flow of products into a discharge pattern that corresponds to a desired longitudinal spacing between products arranged in longitudinal groupings of flowing products. The invention finds special application in connection with staging a continuous plurality of groupings of a flow of products that are stacks of meat slices. The invention includes a multiplicity of generally parallel staging lines that receive the unsynchronized flow of products. One staging line receives the unsynchronized flow and transforms same into precisely spaced groupings of a desired number of products while another staging line deposits a precisely aligned grouping of a specific number of products onto a takeaway conveyor assembly to thereby complete achievement of an important aspect of the invention. Each staging line is controlled such that it indexes to onfeed movement only in response to positioning of a product at an index initiating location. Off-feed of spaced product groups is carried out in timed arrangement with a takeaway conveyor assembly in order to provide a grouped flow of products on the takeaway conveyor assembly that is of the desired spacing and staging.
It is accordingly a general object of the present invention to provide an improved product staging apparatus and method.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved apparatus and method for receiving on demand an unsynchronized flow of products and staging those products for discharge in a predetermined pattern.
Another object of present invention is provide an improved staging apparatus and method for use in connection with the simultaneous packaging of groups of products into spaced cavities of a sheet of packaging material.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved apparatus and method for transforming an unsynchronized flow of sliced meat products from an automatic slicer or slicers into a synchronized flow of product groupings.
These and other objects, features and advantages of this invention will be clearly understood through a consideration of the following detailed description.